Hillsdale County Commissioners Plan in place to review elected officials salaries

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By Andy Barrand

Hillsdale.net - Hillsdale, MI

By Andy Barrand

Posted Feb. 13, 2013 at 8:43 AM

By Andy Barrand
Posted Feb. 13, 2013 at 8:43 AM

Hillsdale, Mich.

andy.barrand@hillsdale.net

HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale County Commissioners spent a half-hour Tuesday hashing out a plan to form a County Compensation Commission.

The motion to form the commission was made by Commissioner Brad Benzing. The commission would be made up of Hillsdale County residents appointed by the commissioners to review and recommend salary changes for elected officials within the county.

With Benzing's recommendation the commission would have been made up of seven registered voters and would have reviewed salaries on a biannual basis.

During discussion on the motion Commissioner Mark Wiley said he would vote the motion down in favor of one that he proposed.

“I have a real concern with the resolution,” he said. “I think this board has the responsibility to do this on a yearly basis."

Wiley’s recommendation would form a committee within the commissioners made up of the finance chair and either the vice finance chair or chairperson of the commission, which would make recommendations on a yearly basis.

Wiley said by forming another committee outside of the commissioners it goes against the concept of streamlining government.

When the first resolution came up for a vote it was voted down 3-2 as Commissioner John Burtka and Wiley cast no votes. With Commissioner Parke Hayes being absent from the meeting, his vote was automatically a no vote.

After the first resolution failed the commissioners worked to come away with a plan they all could agree on. Although all of the commissioners agreed that something needed to be done in regard to reviewing salaries and making recommendations, it was the members who would serve on the commission that caused the controversy.

“We have to have a policy in place,” Wiley said. “It has been our negligence that we don’t have one. I don’t want it to continue as business as usual.”

Benzing said that by having a commission made up of registered voters it would add another layer of transparency. He believed to not proceed this way would make it appear to voters that the commissioners were padding their wallets and those of elected officials.

After several minutes of discussion Butka asked for a vote on Wiley’s motion.

“I think it is not the perfect solution but we have to do something,” Burtka said.

The motion passed 3-2 with Benzing casting the only no vote. Hayes' vote was again a no because of his absence.

Wiley was asked to bring the motion back to the commission as a resolution at the next meeting. Added to the motion was a third member, Marney Kast, clerk, and wording to have salaries reviewed biannually on odd years.

The commissioners also heard a report from Randy Finley, facilities director on the HVAC project at the Hillsdale County Courthouse and Annex.

Page 2 of 2 - The board approved the payments of two outstanding bills from December and January that had been tabled until work was completed. The two payments to Griffiths Mechanical were for $85,308.26 and $91,190.75.

Finley also presented the board with a change order from the project that drew questions from the commissioners. The change for $5,930 was for electrical work that needed to be done at the Annex to bring the building to code.

“This is something we have to do,” Finley said. “Some of the work has been done — if we wouldn’t have done it the project would have come to a stand still. We have done everything we can to contain the cost.”

The commissioners questioned why the contractors didn’t build extra into the bid for potential problems during construction.

“We had bidders and engineers that walked through here before bidding the project,” Burtka said. “Someone overlooked this in the bidding or engineering process.”

Benzing, Burtka and Wiley all asked Finley to pass on their displeasure with the problems that have occurred during the process.

The board approved the change order 3-2 with the two no votes coming from Wiley and Hayes.

Finley also brought a second change order for $1,590 which will update the lighting in the Inspection Department. The money for the project is coming out of the inspector’s budget. That order was also approved.

In other business:

• 15 applicants applied for the part-time Director of Veterans Affairs position. Four applicants were called back for interviews, which will take place today.

• Drain Commissioner Bill Word informed the board of a meeting at 7 p.m. March 5 at Sommerset Township Hall to discuss replacing the Chandler Drain. The project will cost an estimated $180,000.